
Brandon DL Marshall, PhD
Professor of Epidemiology & Founding Director of the People, Place & Health Collective, Vice Chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Director of the Center for Epidemiologic Research
My name is Brandon Marshall (he/him), I am an Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the Brown University School of Public Health and the Founding Director of the People, Place & Health Collective. I received a PhD in epidemiology from the University of British Columbia’s School of Population and Public Health. In 2011, I completed postdoctoral training at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. My research focuses on substance use epidemiology, infectious diseases, and the social, environmental, and structural determinants of health of urban populations.

Alexandra (Alex) Collins, PhD
Assistant Professor of Epidemiology
My name is Alex Collins (she/her) and I am an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology in the Department of Epidemiology at the Brown University School of Public Health. I received my PhD in Health Sciences with a focus on medical social sciences and applied anthropology from Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada. At the PPHC, I am part of the Community-engaged Research pod where I conduct ethnographic and qualitative research focused on environmental influences shaping drug use patterns, the role of social locations in shaping health and social outcomes, and evaluating harm reduction and overdose prevention interventions. If you want to say hello or have any questions, feel free to reach out! You can reach me at: alexandra_collins1@brown.edu.

William Goedel, PhD
Assistant Professor (Research) of Epidemiology
William C. Goedel, PhD [he/him] is an assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the Brown University School of Public Health. His research uses spatial analytical techniques to quantify how the burden of many of the United States’ most pressing public health challenges varies from neighborhood to neighborhood, with a particular interest in identifying areas that are overburdened and underserved as points of focus when resources are limited. This applied research is often conducted in close collaboration with the Rhode Island Department of Health, covering a range of health conditions including asthma, cancer, COVID-19, drug overdose, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), stroke, and vaccine-preventable infections.

Francesca Beaudoin, MD, PhD
Interim Academic Dean at the School of Public Health. Department Chair, Epidemiology & PPHC Co-director. Professor of Epidemiology and Emergency Medicine.
Francesca L. Beaudoin (she/her) MD, MS, PhD is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Epidemiology and an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine. Dr. Beaudoin is a board-certified emergency physician and clinical epidemiologist with expertise in opioid use disorders and pain. Her work primarily focuses on three substantive areas that intersect with different aspects of the opioid epidemic: (1) comparative effectiveness of opioids and analgesic alternatives, (2) pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions for opioid use disorders (OUD), and (3) study of posttraumatic neuropsychiatric sequelae (trauma and its consequences being a major risk factor for substance use)

Jesse Yedinak, MPA
Assistant Dean of Education, Assistant Professor of the Practice of Epidemiology
My name is Jesse Yedinak (she/her/hers) and I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the School of Public Health. I am also the Assistant Dean of Education at the School of Public Health.
My research is focused on applied epidemiology, using a community-engaged approach to research and policy impact by working collaboratively with community-based and state agency partners. As part of that process, I study implementation science, health & data literacy, and plain language communication.

Abdullah Shihipar
Research Associate - Narrative Projects Lead
My name is Abdullah Shihipar (he/him), and I am a Research Associate who runs the Narrative Projects & Policy Impact Initiatives pod here at PPHC. In my role, I help researchers and students take scientific research and translate them to mediums the public can understand; from op-eds and commentaries, to media trainings to plain language communication to public facing informational campaigns. I also handle much of the team’s graphics, branding and social media strategy. I am passionate about public health, overdose prevention, harm reduction and ending the drug war and try to channel these issues in the work I do here everyday. If you have any questions or just want to say hello, you can reach me at: abdullah_shihipar@brown.edu!

Alivia Saunders
Research Assistant
My name is Alivia Saunders and I am a Research Assistant with PPHC in the Dept. of Epidemiology at Brown University’s School of Public Health. I am a proud, lifelong Rhode Islander, and I graduated with my B.S. from the University of Maryland in 2023 having studied public health and Spanish. I’m passionate about sexual and reproductive health, breaking the stigma around substance use, and incarcerated people’s rights. I believe that harm reduction is the future, and that it’s essential to use it as the framework in all areas of public health. If you’d like to get in touch, shoot me an email anytime at alivia_saunders@brown.edu!

Andy Gould
Research Assistant
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Carolyn Park
Data Analyst
My name is Carolyn Park (she/her), and I am a Data Analyst at the PPHC in the Department of Epidemiology at Brown University School of Public Health. As part of the Data Security, Transformation, and Visualization Pod, I am primarily responsible for project and data management, various data-related services, and analytical support. I completed my MPH in infectious disease epidemiology at Yale School of Public Health.

Claire Pratty
Data Analyst
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Esther Moon
Illustrator
My name is Esther J. Moon, and I am an Illustrator with the PPHC. Hailing from Philadelphia, I graduated from Drexel University in 2019 with a bachelor of science in Public Health & a minor in Science, Technology, & Society. As an illustrator for the team, I’ve translated overdose related research & addiction treatment studies into infographics & comic strips in public health. I find it important to ensure racial & ethnic representation is depicted & affirms the dignity & humanity of all people in the work I create. Aside from illustration, my main research interests include harm reduction, reproductive rights, & the environmental effects & drug use during pregnancy. Feel free to shoot me an email at esther_moon@brown.edu for any questions!

Julia Trombley
Research Assistant
I am a Research Assistant in the Department of Epidemiology at the Brown University School of Public Health. I am a member of the Community Engaged Research Pod and the Clinical Research Pod. I work on the RAPIDS study, which seeks to prevent overdose deaths in Rhode Island, and the MPS study, supporting opioid use treatment and recovery through a mobile app. I studied philosophy and biology at the University of Guelph. Feel free to reach out at: julia_trombley@brown.edu

Maxwell Krieger
Project Director
My name is Max(well) Krieger (he/him), and I am a Project Director who leads the Data Security, Transformation, and Visualization work here at PPHC. In my role, I provide oversight to our data-intensive research products and guide the development of our data infrastructure. Much of my work involves creating engaging visual products, from charts to maps to dashboards. I am passionate about fostering a data-savvy work environment and collaborating with community members and colleagues alike. I am happy to chat anytime about anything, especially axolotls: maxwell_krieger@brown.edu!

Marisela Betances
Research Assistant

Sam Bessey
Lead Software Engineer
I’m Sam, and I’m the lead software engineer here at PPHC. I manage our lab’s epidemiological modeling projects and develop our web-tools for various projects. My position also includes guiding PPHC members through coding best practices, scientific transparency, and the NIH Data Management & Sharing Policy. I lead our initiatives toward open science and open-source software, putting my values of collaboration into practice. Check out my GitHub to see my open-source projects.

Seashore Li, MD, PhD
Senior Biostatistician
My name is Seashore (Yu) Li (they/them) and I am a Senior Biostatistician who serves as statistical support in data pod here at PPHC. In my role, I help researchers and students with statistics analysis in both designing stage of the study and manuscript writing. I’m familiar with a series of software (SPSS, SAS, Stata, R, python etc) which easily communicate with researchers and students who use any of the specific software. I have clinic medicine and epidemiology training background and have growing interest in data science. If you have any questions or just want to say hello, you can reach me at: yu_li1@brown.edu!

Alyssa Peachey
Project Manager
Alyssa Peachey, MHA is a project manager in the People, Place and Health Collective at Brown University. She currently manages clinical research trials for adults who are receiving treatment or recovery support for opioid use disorder. She is passionate about collaborating with other research teams to prevent overdose and incorporate harm reduction practices within the community. She has experience working in emergency medicine research as well as recruiting participants via social media advertising on a national level.

Cathy Lenox
Research Assistant
Hello! My name is Cathy Lenox (she/her) and I am a Research Assistant here at PPHC in the Department of Epidemiology at Brown University School of Public Health. My work is primarily on studies focusing on opioid overdose prevention (RAPIDS) or digital peer support for those in treatment or recovery from opioid use disorder (MPS). This work focuses on harm reduction and motivational interviewing. If you want to say hi or talk about my work, you can reach me out: cathy_lenox@brown.edu

Claire Macon
Research Assistant
My name is Claire Macon (she/her) and I am a Research Assistant at PPHC working primarily on the testRI study. My work at PPHC builds off of previous direct service and organizing work related to houselessness, drug users rights and access, and sex workers rights. I am interested in research that focuses on community centered harm reduction strategies and understanding labor and survival amongst criminalized populations. Feel free to reach me directly at claire_macon@brown.edu!

Jackie Goldman
Project Director
My name is Jacqueline Goldman (they/them), and I am a Project Director who runs the Community Engaged Research work here at PPHC. In my role, I manage a number of different studies that are all rooted in community research methods. The studies work directly with people who use drugs as well as the organizations that support them. I am passionate about using research to create real-world change. I believe that our policy and practice needs to center harm reduction and the voices of people with lived experience. If you have any questions or just want to say hello, you can reach me at: jacqueline_goldman1@brown.edu!

Erik Wills
Human Research Specialist
My name is Erik Wills (he/him), and I am a Human Research Specialist at the PPHC in the Department of Epidemiology at Brown University. I received my Masters in Public Health in 2019 from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. In my role at PPHC I assist in the development and tracking of Institutional Review Board (IRB) submissions, in addition to serving as a liaison between study investigators, sponsors, and the IRB office. I am passionate about clinical research and discovering new organization tactics. Outside of work I am a skier and pug owner. Feel free to reach out to me at erik_wills@brown.edu with any questions.

Kelsey Armeni
Research Assistant
My name is Kelsey Armeni (she/her) and I am a Research Assistant with PPHC. I help with data collection in the field on projects within the Community-engaged Research Pod and Clinical Research Pod. I am passionate about applied research using ethnographic and qualitative methods to address environmental, social, and structural determinants of health. Feel free to reach out at kelsey_armeni@brown.edu.

Laura Chambers
Assistant Professor of the Practice of Epidemiology and Lead Research Scientist
My name is Laura Chambers (she/her), and I am an epidemiologist who is passionate about working with public health departments and community-based organizations to improve population health and health equity. My work involves both research and applied epidemiology spanning the fields of substance use, mental health, COVID-19, and sexual health. I completed my MPH and PhD in Epidemiology at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Michael Tan
Project Coordinator
My name is Michael Tan (he/him), and I work as a Project Coordinator working on community engaged research. I work mainly on data collection in the field at offsite locations throughout Rhode Island with nonprofit community organizations on project RAPIDS. I also help with other various projects, including doing data collection with qualitative research. I received a B.A. in Public Health at Brown University Spring 2021. If you have any questions or just want to say hello, you can reach me at: michael_tan1@brown.edu

Roxxanne Newman
Research Assistant
My name is Roxxanne Newman (she/her) and I am a Research Assistant for the Centers for Epidemiology and Environmental Health at Brown University. I am currently assisting with the RAPIDS and TAROE studies. Additionally, I am a Co-PI on an R24 funded pilot study examining the use of recovery community centers by people on medications used for opiate use disorder. I am also currently a Ph.D. student at Capella University pursuing a Doctorate in General Psychology with a focus on addiction and recovery science. Passionate about research-focused recovery, addiction, and harm reduction, as well as an advocate for multiple social justice issues, I am also a person in long term recovery.

Sari Greene
Research Assistant
My name is Sari Greene and I am a Research Assistant with the Department Epidemiology at the Brown School of Public Health working on studies with the Person, Place, and Health Collective. I am passionate about community informed research, harm reduction, and remediating the long-lasting effects of the war on drugs. Please feel free to reach out to me with questions or to say hello at sari_greene@brown.edu.

Todd Hampson
Web Developer
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Alex Macmadu, PhD
Presidential Postdoctoral Research Associate
My name is Alex Macmadu (she/her), and I am a Presidential Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Epidemiology at the Brown University School of Public Health, which is also where I received my PhD in epidemiology. My research is focused on opioids, overdose prevention, and harm reduction, and my research program examines the social determinants of drug use and overdose, as well as approaches to mitigate drug-related harms. Much of my work also seeks to advance justice and health equity in marginalized subgroups, including BIPOC communities and folks affected by the criminal legal system. Feel free to shoot me an email at: alexandria_macmadu@brown.edu.

Alexandra Skinner
Doctoral student
Alexandra Skinner, MPH is a first-year doctoral student in the Department of Epidemiology. Her research interests apply epidemiologic methods to evaluate the ways in which stigmatizing, punitive, and discriminatory policies shape overdose and infectious disease. Alex’s work supports collaborations between the People, Place & Health Collective and Rhode Island Department of Health to target overdose prevention efforts in the state to neighborhoods predicted to be at highest risk of overdose death. Before coming to Brown, Alex worked as a research fellow at Boston University School of Public Health, where her work focused on policy drivers of population health and health equity in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and in terms of access to HIV care for adolescents. She received a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology & Biostatistics and a Bachelor of Science in Health Science, both from Boston University.

Leah Shaw
PhD Student
My name is Leah Shaw (she/her), and I am a first-year doctoral student in the Department of Epidemiology. I am working on supporting the efforts of the PROFOUND study, which aims to optimize Narcan distribution strategies in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York. I am also supporting research related to the Overdose Prevention Center here in Providence. Before starting at Brown, I worked at Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program on their Hepatitis C and HIV teams leading research, reporting, and quality improvement. I have also worked in mobile health, syringe exchange, and occupational health efforts in the U.S. and in Latin America. I received my Master of Public Health in Epidemiology & Biostatistics and Bachelor of Arts in International Relations & Community Health from Tufts University. Feel free to reach out! My email is leah_shaw@brown.edu.

Fiona Bhondoekhan
Doctoral student
Fiona Bhondoekhan is a second-year doctoral student in the Department of Epidemiology involved with chronic pain and opioid addiction research aimed to improve treatment access and health outcomes of people who use drugs. She works with the Dr. Brandon Marshall and the People, Place & Health Collective (PPHC) at Brown University evaluating behavioral interventions and opioid prescription trends among high-risk opioid-using populations in Rhode Island. Her research interests are also in pharmacoepidemiology and evaluating policy effects for drug improvement programs using claims data and epidemiologic methods such as causal frameworks evaluating marginal structural models, instrumental variables, propensity scores, and target trial emulations. Before coming to Brown University, she worked as biostatistician for the MACS/WIHS Combined Cohort Study (i.e., the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study and Women’s Interagency HIV Study) where her work focused on chronic age-related outcomes disproportionally affecting people living with HIV including cardiovascular disease, inflammation, frailty, and neurocognition. Fiona obtained her master’s degree in Epidemiology from Johns Hopkins University in 2018 and her bachelor’s degree in Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2013.

Shayla Nolen
Doctoral Candidate
Shayla Nolen is a fourth-year doctoral candidate interested in using mathematical modeling and spatial methods to estimate the impact of structural and social factors related to racism on HIV and overdose prevention. Her dissertation will specifically investigate the effect of gentrification on HIV transmission among African American/Black adults in Philadelphia using a spatially dynamic agent-based model. Prior to Brown, she worked at Boston University Medical Center, conducting cost-effectiveness research to study HCV and overdose prevention among people who inject drugs. She holds a BA in Mathematics from Fisk University and an MPH with a concentration in Epidemiology from the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University.